Doing Business With The New China: Getting Past No

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2 B2B Selling: Getting Past No

Contents

3 6 8 9 10 14

| Generating Your Positioning

| Initial Contact

| Tips for Emailing

| Building Rapport | Handling Objections | Competition Conversations


Generating Your Positioning

dentifying a product or service to enter the China market takes into careful consideration the competitive positioning and overall value that is provided to the Chinese business customer vs. alternative products or services. Here are some frameworks to consider when creating your positioning statement. This statement will be used to identify the right buyers in the company and the messages that will be used to make initial contact in this “ Getting Past No” stage of the sales process. Positioning Statements to Target Different Buyers in the Innovation Life Cycle Companies who load their marketing communications with every possible selling argument make their product harder to sell. The goal here is to make it easier to buy to the different sections by doing the following 1. Name it and frame it (for technology enthusiasts): potential buyers cannot buy what they

cannot name, nor can they seek out the product unless they know what category to look under.

2. Who for and what for (for visionaries): customers here look for information on who is going to use and for what purpose.

3. Competition and differentiation (for pragmatists): the look for some comparison to a market and product alternative so they can expect what to pay and to expect from performance

4. Financials and futures (for conservatives): here customers are looking for vendors who have staying power and will continue to invest in the product category.

Creating a Positioning Statement Framework for the Early Majority (Pragmatic) Buyer In the visionary days, primary competition for the dollars comes from others within their own company, who are vying with the visionary for dollars to fund projects. The competition takes place at the level of corporate agenda, not at the level of competing products. In the pragmatist domain, competition is defined by comparative evaluations of products and vendors within a common category. The form of this is through evaluation matrices of factors weighted and scored. Pragmatist buyers do not like to buy until there is both established competition and an established leader. Competition therefore becomes a fundamental condition of purchase. The pragmatists are skeptical generalists which do not take an interest in an unproven company but are always interested in new market developments. As you cross the chasm you move from visionaries (who are supporters and product orientated) to pragmatists (who are skeptics and market orientated).

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Creating the competition begins with locating your product within a buying category that already has some established credibility with the pragmatist buyer. You must frame position in words that are likely to actually exist in other people’s heads and not in words that come straight out of hot advertising copy. The most effective positioning strategies are the ones that demand the least amount of change in their mental picture of the world

To create the positioning you will create two competitors as

familiar beacons to customers so that they can uniquely locate your value proposition 1. Market alternative: this is a company that the target customer

base has been buying from for years. The budget that is allocated to them represents the money we as a new entrant are going to pre-empt. In the target beachhead segment, there needs to exist already the budget dollars to buy your offer.

2. Product alternative: this reference competitor is positioning itself like us as a technology leader and their existence gives credibility to the notion that now is the time to embrace a technology discontinuity. Our intent here is to acknowledge their technology but differentiate from them by virtue of our own niche market focus. You need to make it clear to everyone involved that a technology shift is underway here and that old solutions simply cannot hope to keep up.

Creating the positioning statement. The key in this statement is not what you write down but what you have to give up. 1. For (target customers – beachhead segment only) 2. Who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternative) 3. Our product is a (new product category) 4. That provides (key problem solving capability) 5. Unlike (the product alternative) 6. We have assembled (key whole product features for your

specific application)


Positioning Framework 2 1. To (type of customers you want to target) 2. Our company provides (type of value provided) 3. by (what the company does) 4. because (how they achieve the unique value. these are

reasons why that is true) 5. so that you feel (emotions wanting to impart to the customer)

Positioning Framework 3

Here are a variety of frameworks for the late majority customers. Look for your differentiator and how you are different and unlike others in your field. 1. expert positioning. tactic is white papers, articles, thought

leader etc. 2. attribute positioning...what attributes are important in the

market and what is not owned. Find words or adjectives that you can own in the category. ie...endorsements, recommendations and getting people to talk about your attribute.

3. leadership positioning: for every category we look for leaders..ie..number one seller in a region, area etc. Win awards, metrics etc.

4. against position or maverick positioning: you want to do the opposite of what the leader is doing. Go against the grain.


Once the positioning statement is defined and the target buying title is determined this allows the selling organization to compile a list of initial names to target. The first conversations we should be having are discovery questions. we are not selling but are looking for symptoms, the physical evidence of the absence of our value. We conduct these conversations with the people who are closest to the action, people who are working at the point where the absence of our value manifests. these are the 'victims' of the absence of our value • we ask for facts and consequences: do u see this happen? does that ever occur? what

are the results? • You are speaking peer to peer. it is relaxed and informal, but professional CONTACT SEQUENCE #1 Your job is to orchestrate rich and compelling experiences whenever you connect with prospective customers. What makes an experience with you rich and compelling? These experiences are created by sellers who focus on developing their expertise, and who invest time learning their prospects business problems. They are compelling conversations, designed by you. When you go after an account, plan on approximately 10 touches, spread out over 4 to 6 weeks. 1. Convey all the information in a series of 30 second voicemails, 90 word emails or one

page letters. On the positive side. prospects memories are so short that you can reconnect in a week or 2.

2. Every 3 to 5 seconds during your initial outreach, your prospects ask themselves 'is this of interest?'. if not, they delete. That is why it is important to invest time in your upfront positioning and messaging

3. Despite your best efforts, there are times when nothing seems to work and prospects stay with the status quo. After 8 to 10 contacts, you may decide to let them off the hook. Send your prospects an email stating that you thought they were interested, but perhaps you misjudged the situation since you have not heard back from them these last six weeks.

CONTACT SEQUENCE #2 It takes a minimum of 8 touches or attempts to contact a prospect before they respond. An example system 1. Make an email warmer: the intention is to simply warm up the prospect in preparation for

your next communication with them 2. 3 days: Voicemail 3. 3 days: Voicemail 4. 4 days: email 5. 5 days: Voicemail 6. 4 days: unique email that will capture the prospects attention. be creative and stand out.

lottery ticket or send them a hula hoop. 7. 4 days: send a fedex letter with a wrap-up note

Initial Contact


CONTACT SEQUENCE #3 Turing cold calls into warm calls. When you make cold calls you are entering the sale process with near zero credibility Four stages to the initial call. It take from 30 to 45 minutes to uncover needs and communicate value 1. Introduction: this is the highest hurdle in the sales process and lasts only 15 to 40 seconds

1. State name, company and description of company. No small talk and should be spoken with confidence. ‘Hello Mr x, my name is y and I am with z, and we are a software company,,,is this a bad time?‘

2. If you get a ‘What is this about?' first legitimize a reason for why you are calling. ‘Well, Mr x, we have figured out how to solve a series of very specific business problems that many customers in your industry currently face, and I wanted to see if it would make sense for us to be having a conversation?‘

3. Let the prospects know why you are calling 1. Personal endorsements 2. Associative references: ‘ I just got off the phone with Doris in

purchasing...and I have a question. Do you have a minute?' Everyone has a minute.

3. Herd momentum 4. Glimpses of value: 'give us your most difficult problem, and if we cant

solve it within a reasonable time frame, our time and effort will cost you nothing'. 'if we could increase your revenue by 45 percent, would you be interested in hearing more about our products‘

2. Between stage 1 and Stage 2 discovery: this is where sellers often lose control of their calls. Put yourself in a position that earns you the right to engage further

1. Are you the right person to talk about... 2. How familiar are you with ABC company? 3. Can i ask you a question?

3. Stage 2 discovery: get credibility by asking relevant and diagnostic questions. Ask 5 or 6 questions to let prospects know that you do understand their business. What happens is that prospects begin to open up and share information

1. ask issue questions to uncover needs. 'to what extent is x important?'. Ask global questions to get further elaboration 'how do you mean?‘

4. Stage 3 value proposition: the goal is to get the prospect to participate in the next part of the sales process. You want to make them curious enough to want more info about how your product can meet their specific needs.

1. Would it make sense for me to take a minute and bring you up to speed on our products?‘ Should be able to articulate your entire value proposition in 25 words or less and to cause them to want to know more

2. Close on next steps: here you want a follow-up, include other people and develop potential champions.

1. Mr x, i can go on and on telling you about the value of the product, but here is the problem...there is no good way to show how the product actually works over the phone. Thats why, with most customers, we setup a demo or presentation so you can understand how our product will address your specific concerns. Would that be valuable?‘

3. Cover the following points to help prospects think through the logistics of next steps to ensure success

1. who else needs to be involved?‘ 2. Offer a range of dates so that you dont get into a back and forth about

getting the right people


tate simply and clearly why you are reaching out. Make the email easy to read and respond on smartphone and ask just one simple to answer question (such as for a referral). Effective email subject lines have the following types of characteristics: 1. Create curiosity or some uncertainty 2. Talk about some utility 3. Have an incomplete thought in the way of a question

Here are some examples: • two questions... • on second thought... • wanted to ask a favor... • would like your opinion about.. • per george thompson... • here's another idea... • October is rapidly approaching... • your upcoming merger plans... • How do we get to no? • Can we arrange to discuss? Recommendation from <someone> • Seeking a world class <X>, Can we arrange to meet?

1. Subject: Bad News

1. I have some bad news to share with you.... Unfortunately, next week is the last week that the 10% discount on X will be available

2. Subject: About Your question 1. I know you haven't done business with us before and probably have a lot of questions

about the services offered by X. I've compiled answers to some of the most frequent questions we get, and figured you might have some of the same questions.

3. Subject: Strange Question OR Weird Question OR Quick Question 1. We took note of your recent press release and saw that you sent it through one of the

standard press release services, but here’s a strange question 4. Subject: Follow Up Note

1. I wanted to take a moment to follow up with you regarding your next press release 5. Subject: Congratulations and Thank You

1. Was thinking of you.., what you did there was very interesting would love if I could have 3 minutes of your time over email so that I could share something with you..

Tips For Emailing

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hen meeting buyers for the first time, the salesperson primary focus should be to build rapport and trust. Without rapport and trust, it is unlikely that buyers will share their goals and certainly will not admit problems to a person. A goal and problem are two sides of the same sheet of paper. While buyers are typically reluctant to admit they are not doing well, they usually are willing to share what they'd like to accomplish. it is far easier to share a goal than admit a problem. A sales cycle begins once a buyer shares a goal with a seller. without a goal, there can be no solution development and no prospect.

Make sure that buyers retain ownership of the goals, problems and needs. solving the company's problems is what the buyer does day in and day out. No product or salesperson can take responsibility for achieving the desired business result. If the buyer concludes that you understand the current situation, goals or problems then you have earned the opportunity to help you buyer with your offering.

90% of building rapport is having the correct mindset going into a conversation, call or meeting.

Some tactics for building rapport: 1. Mirroring: If we want someone else to feel what we're feeling, if we want to trigger mirror neurons

then we need to communicate our emotions through our body language as well as our words. Research indicates that our bodies will convey an emotion if we 'check in' and become aware of that emotion and you will be able to emote tone of voice, speech rhythms, facial expressions and body language easier. Mirror neurons are a big part of what make emotions contagious. We have a biological need to be mirrored...when our feelings are mirrored, we feel felt. and we reciprocate instinctively trying to satisfy the other persons emotional needs. Our fastest and most evolved cognitive transmissions are from mind to body, not mind to mouth...words can be misleading but the body doesn't lie. Herd behavior accounts for how humans in a group can act together organically without planned direction. Mirror neurons trigger our natural inclination to reflect the emotions of others facilitates this process.

2. Reciprocation: the act of giving when done with authenticity to help can trigger reciprocation. Little gifts built over time trigger reciprocity. When giving a gift, instead of saying “your welcome”..say “I know you would do the same for me”…to trigger reciprocation.

3. Finding common ground 1. Compliments: State the compliment which is true and what you feel is true about this

person 2. Justify the complement by saying “because”, this refocuses the person on the good

thing. “the reason I say this because you are always attentive…etc” 3. Immediately ask a question… ‘how do you do that?”, “how can you get that done”.

Building Rapport

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Handling Objections

Here is a 3 step process to overcoming initial objections: 1. Find something in the response to which you can agree 2. Clarify: ask information about the current situation 3. Legitimize: ask a question that will project your prospective customer into the future and will

make evident any potential obstacles to an agreement. 'assuming we can..' 'what if...' 'lets just pretend...' 'just suppose...' 'imagine for a moment..'. after walking into the future ask 'what do you feel will happen next?

Here are some common objections and some example tactics on how to uncover the basic issue and expand on a way to solve the objection: “Send me the information…” 1. Agreement: ‘I would be glad to forward you some information‘ 2. clarify: 'what specific information would be of particular interest to you?‘ 3. Legitimize: ‘I will put together some info that you will receive by Monday. assuming you need

some time to look over the info, when should i call u back to discuss this further?' Let us assume for a moment that Friday is here, you have reviewed our info and are pleased with what you see. what do you feel will happen next?'


I need to talk it over with... 1. Agree: 'great. I am happy to hear that you will follow through on that‘ 2. Clarify: ‘Is this something you are willing to recommend?'‘ What issues do you see as important to

him?‘ 3. Legitimize: 'let us pretend for a minute that you are meeting with you boss about this proposal.

What exactly will you be sharing with him?‘

Call me back in 3 months… 1. agree: 'so that i can prepare my follow up call, what exactly will we be discussing? 'As i plan my

next call with you, what will be occurring between now and the next 4 weeks?‘ 2. May I ask...what might be changing within the next few months that would then make it a better

time to discuss this? 3. That sounds fair. if I quickly check my calendar, you are suggesting to touch based in march? 4. Thanks again..before we wrap up..because there is so many things can happen in 2 months..I was

hoping to stay in touch with you without stepping over the line. with your permission, can I contact you from time to time with updates or other information that you may find of interest as it relates to your business?

I will need to get my boss involved in this discussion. He will be back within the next few weeks… 1. 'what do you perceive will be the most interest to john?‘ 2. ‘Assuming that he likes what he hears, what do you think will happen next?‘ 3. 'imagine he is not receptive…how do you think you would respond?‘ 4. ‘What key points will you be stressing to him?'

You really should be talking to someone else? 1. Agree: 'great, would be happy to talk to her‘ 2. clarify: 'based on you past experiences working with her, how do you feel she would react looking

at the information about my service?'

We have no budget for this year? 1. I appreciate the fact that you have no defined budget this year and I wasn’t think this year. I am

calling to see whether there might be a match between our business value and your objectives in the next time period where you will be making such decisions.

2. Is the real question here, how do we organize this so you get the benefits now that would justify the budget

3. Is the real question, how do we go about finding that money” 4. even if you don’t have the money, if you don’t do this, wont it cost a lot more?


I am extremely busy… 1. How much time do you think needs to be invested in a project like this..that would cause you to

feel that there is no time available for this? 2. Ohhh, I didn’t mean this week or even next week. I was thinking three or four weeks from now so

why don’t we pencil something in for the last Thursday of the month. Would morning or afternoon be better, it is wide open and up to you.

3. I appreciate that. I know this is a priority somewhere for you because I know you or your team is spending time on this issue or being affected by this problem..

4. That’s exactly why I want to talk to you because I know you are busy and I’m sure you would rather be playing golf. If you are willing to hear me for the next 10 minutes, I have a way that can allow you to play more golf and still get all the things you are getting done BUT even better. Would you want to hear about something like that? Would that be pretty important to hear about?

5. Making sure time is invested wisely is important…what weeks are bad for your right now?

We will get back to you 1. I am glad that you will take some time offline to discuss what makes sense for your organization.

Can you share with me what those steps might look like? I need to think about it 1. i am glad you r going to give this careful consideration. what are some of the things you like

about what I have said so far and what things do you have concerns about?

We have too much going on 1. Making sure you time is invested wisely is important. What will help you make this a priority?

We don't have a budget for this. 1. Acknowledge:

1. Thanks for being upfront with me. I can certainly appreciate your position. I am sure there is even more pressure to make certain the limited funds u do have are being invested in the right place

2. I certainly understand that. it seems as if everyone today is more sensitive to operating within their limited budget..only making investments into proven products that they know are going to work

2. Responsive questions: 1. How much do think my product would cost..that would cause you to feel that there

is no budget available for this? 2. is it a budgetary concern or are you more concerned about the value you will

receive? 3. Is it more of an function of not having the money to invest..or more about making

sure your limited budget is being invested in the right place to ensure a measurable ROI?


3. Get permission to discuss a solution to their concern 1. I am not sure we can provide you with the ROI that my other customers have

experienced. However if the possibility existed where we can demonstrate a rapid ROI so you can start realizing the advantages within one month...is that something you would be interested in talking about?

2. If budget was no longer an issue for you…would you be open to exploring this in more detail?

3. f I can demonstrate to you in just 3 minutes how the value you will receive will far outweighs the manageable investment amount that I would propose.. would you be open to hearing more about how you can achieve this?

I am in a bit of rush now...can you send me a brochure or some additional information? 1. Mr. prospect, I appreciate your interest in learning more about our product. To ensure that I send you the appropriate material...what information would you like to see that is most important to you when making a purchasing decision 2. Great. Thanks for letting me know. based on what you are looking for, the last thing I want to do is put another task on your plate..such as reviewing the info I send you..I know how valuable your time is. My goal is to make your life easier..not more difficult that is why I am a bit resistant to send you something that will be more of a disservice..without learning more about you and your current situation, goals and experiences that you are currently facing. 3. Based on what you have shared with me, the best brochure I can send you is me. because you were planning on putting some time aside to read the info I send you...let's schedule a brief meeting inside. this way…if you still have a need for additional info I would be happy to tailor it around you specific needs and objectives…ok?


onversations on competition can come up anywhere in the sales cycle. Here are some tactics and methods to consider when the topic comes up. Frameworks to think about Competition 1. You should do everything you can to learn from them. You can feel threatened by what a competitor is doing but it's actually more productive to learn from them. What are they doing that the customer likes that we can learn from? 2. The walls are there for other competitors so they don't get there before you do 3. This is a fast moving place and nobody has all the answers. 4. We would like other companies to enter this space..a rising tide floats all boats scenario. This market is very user served and it will be a long time before the borders of the empires smash up against each other. 5. You always have competition..consumers can always choose to do nothing 6. Good artists copy, great artists steal. It used to be called plagiarism, I call it benchmarking. What are 5 things that the competition are doing better than us? 7. The probability of other companies beating you is probably not in the top 10 things that will make you fail

I really think your product is really great, but I have an established supplier and I don’t want to change.. 1. You agree. “I really envy your supplier, he is got a great relationship with you and I am really

envious because I would love to have a customer like you. They must be really doing a great job for you.”

2. You then ask what they are doing really well. “Can I ask you a question, what are three best things he is doing for you?”

3. You then ask something that the company is not doing well. Something they would like to see improved. You are trying to stir up the hurt. “What are three things that could be better, or that could be improved upon”

4. You agree with those things that are not going well and then you explore the consequences and price of those things that are not improving. “Yes, that problem is pretty important. You can lose money, lose customers etc etc”

5. “What will be the price be if you didn’t change. What will be the impact long term?” Do not tell them, because they will evaluate first if what you are saying is true. If you ask them and they tell you, then it is the truth

Competition Conversations

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We already have a supplier and we are happy with him… 1. I realize you have a supplier. What I am suggesting is that you don’t stop using your current

supplier unless we can offer something of better value to you which will help your company achieve the goals more effectively and efficiently.

2. Of course you have a supplier. And I didn’t think for one moment that I would become your supplier overnight. In fact ,I don’t think I should be your supplier unless I can add more value than what you currently get. So if you like I can take a look at your needs and then see if I can deliver a solution to those needs that is currently lacking.

We have an Internal solution… 1. What has been tried before and what stopped it from working? 2. what if anything, might prevent the successful implementation of this solution going forward? 3. 'it sounds like even if we come up with the best solution and get the results you wanted, it wont

be adopted because of x...x has killed it in the past and will do the same this time..what do you think we should do?

What makes your product better than your competitors? 1. I am not sure that it is. our competitor makes a fine product and at this point, I don't understand

enough about your situation to recommend which product may be a better fit for your application. let me ask you this...'

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Doing Business With The New China: Getting Past No